Cherokee County schools got a leg up on their Region 7-6A competition when Fulton County’s two-week delay to the start of the season over COVID-19 concerns put Cambridge, Centennial, Chattahoochee, Johns Creek and Riverwood behind schedule.
Creekview, River Ridge and Sequoyah began their seasons on Sept. 4 and have played three games. The Fulton schools started on Sept. 18 and have played two each.
But they’re all even now. This weekend marks the beginning of region play in 7-6A, and those are the games that matter most.
The region has had some turnover since last year. Playoff teams Alpharetta (moved 5-7A), North Atlanta (4-6A) and Northview (5-5A) as well as Dunwoody (7-7A) and Pope (6-6A) departed in the GHSA’s reclassification. The Cherokee schools moved over from Region 6 and Riverwood came up from Class 5A to replace them, turning what had been a nine-team region into an eight-team league.
Here’s a closer look at the teams of Region 7 (in order of the current standings):
*River Ridge (3-0): The Knights are 3-0 for just the third time in the school’s 12-year history and appear poised to make a run at the program’s second playoff appearance, first since 2012. River Ridge had never beaten a fellow Cherokee County school until this year, knocking off Woodstock (22-17) and Etowah (38-7) in consecutive weeks. Second-year coach Michael Collins is 6-7 at the school.
*Riverwood (2-0): The Raiders are in the midst of the best run in program history. Last year, they won a school-record 11 games, won a state playoff game for the first time since 2001 and captured their first region title. Third-year coach Robert Edwards is 21-4 at a school that was 2-8 the year before he arrived. The Raiders beat North Springs in the opener and Woodward Academy last week.
*Creekview (2-1): In 2018, the Grizzlies had the best season in the school’s 15-year history, finishing 12-1, winning the Region 6-6A title and advancing to the state quarterfinals. They took a step back last year, missing the playoffs despite a 6-4 overall record. Creekview was this year’s preseason favorite to win 7-6A, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings, slightly ahead of Johns Creek.
*Cambridge (1-1): The Bears reached the playoffs just once in their first eight seasons, but they also seem to find themselves in contention late in the season. Last year, they were 4-6 overall (3-5 in the region) and still had hope until ending the season with a 20-0 loss to region runner-up Alpharetta. Cambridge is a 15-point underdog this week against Creekview, per the Maxwell Ratings.
*Chattahoochee (1-1): Head coach Mike Malone is 4-8 at the school, a dramatic improvement over the 0-10 season in 2018 before his arrival. In a season-opening 56-39 victory over Northview, quarterback Jaylen Smith threw for 373 yards (with touchdown passes of 48, 52, 33, 61 and 36 yards) and ran for 54 yards and two touchdowns. The Cougars lost to Alpharetta 21-7 last week.
*Centennial (0-2): The Knights were the region runners-up for three consecutive seasons before crashing to 0-10 in 2019. Their losses this year have come against Roswell and Peachtree Ridge, two 7A teams with a combined record of 5-0. New coach Sean O’Sullivan worked wonders in two seasons at North Atlanta, leading the Warriors to the playoffs in 2019 for the first time since 1996.
*Johns Creek (0-2): The Gladiators won three of the past four region titles, and last year they won a school-record 10 games and reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time. Johns Creek averaged 40 points per game last season but has scored just seven total in their first two games this year. However, those losses came against Class 7A No. 7 Milton and Class 6A No. 3 Westlake.
*Sequoyah (0-3): The Chiefs finished 5-5 last season and missed the playoffs for just the second time in eight years. However, expect Sequoyah to be in the playoff mix again this season despite its winless start in non-region play (against Cherokee, Woodstock and Cass, who have a combined record of 10-2). The region opener this week against Johns Creek is likely to tell a lot about both teams.
Schedule
Here is the schedule of Friday’s games in 7-6A schedule, as of Thursday afternoon:
Creekview at Cambridge
River Ridge at Chattahoochee
Riverwood at Centennial
Sequoyah at Johns Creek
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